Friday, January 28, 2011

Ray Drew finally made it official on Friday morning, committing publicly to Georgia.

The defensive end-linebacker from Thomas County Central High School is the nation's ninth overall prospect according to Rivals.com. So he becomes the highest-rated commitment for Georgia, which now has four of the nation's top 60 prospects (as rated by Rivals) and No. 23 Isaiah Crowell and No. 42 Jeoffrey Pagan reportedly leaning the Bulldogs' way.

Drew's decision wasn't a surprise, or apparently a well-kept secret. Another commitment, Watts Dantzler, publicly welcomed Drew to the class before Drew made the announcement.

Drew can play DE or LB in Georgia's 3-4 system. He becomes the 23rd commitment to Georgia's 2011 class, with several more key players still on the board. That includes Crowell, a tailback, Pagan, a defensive lineman, and junior college standout John Jenkins, a nose tackle.

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I'm posting this at - looking at non-existent watch - 9:07 a.m. Ray Drew, the Thomas County Central High School star, is scheduled to make his announcement at 10 a.m. I'll update the thread once Drew makes it official.

Most people will be shocked if the linebacker-defensive end doesn't pick Georgia. Auburn, LSU and Clemson were also under consideration.

Let me also use this opportunity address the Ralph Friedgen rumors. The former head coach at Maryland has been linked to Georgia's offensive line job based on the fact that a) he was spotted in Athens recently, b) he has a house about an hour away near Lake Oconee, and c) people need something to talk about.

I spoke to someone on Thursday who I'm pretty sure would know if something was up, and they didn't give it any credence. It would be quite a step down for someone to go from 10 years as a head coach in a BCS conference - even the ACC - to a position coach in college. And so he was in Athens: As pointed out he has a house about an hour away, and hey, we Maryland grads like Athens. The crabs aren't as good as back home - but there is the Terrapin beer. Just sayin'.

I realize it is probably a pipe dream, but I think Friedgen would add a lot to our offense. Money talks, and it was just noted that UGA doesn't put nearly the percentage of revenue back into our football program that other powerhouse SEC schools do. This could be a start. And, like you say, he lives an hour away....

Last time I was in the Chesapeake area they admitted they couldn't crab in most of the waters there and that they "imported" most of their blue crab from South Carolina and Georgia waters. Just saying.

Love this quote from Ray Drew as he called out to all those other players to follow him to UGA...

“I just want to say to Jay at the end of his announcement, I heard your call,” Drew said. “And now I’ve given an answer. Isaiah Crowell, we’re waiting on you; Antonio Richardson, we’re waiting on you; John Jenkins, we’re waiting on you; and Jeoffrey Pagan, we’re waiting on you. Come join what we’re putting together, the Dream Team. But remember, a dream is only a dream until you make it reality. So I’m calling you out on this one. I hope you’re not afraid to be thrown into the fire. I hope you’re not afraid to be the ones to make the change.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Seth Emerson has been covering the SEC and Georgia (on and off) since 2002. He worked at the Albany Herald from 2002-05, then spent five years at The State in Columbia, S.C., covering South Carolina. He returned to Athens in August of 2010, only to find that David Pollack and David Greene were no longer playing for the Bulldogs. Adjustments were made. Emerson is originally from Silver Spring, Md., and graduated from Maryland in 1998 with a degree in journalism and a minor in getting lost on the way to practically everywhere. Then he spent four years at The Washington Post, covering small colleges, a couple NCAA basketball tournaments, and on one glorious day, was yelled at by Tony Kornheiser. It was probably at The Post that he also learned to write in the third person.These days he lives in Athens with his beloved and somewhat wimpy dog, Archie. Together they fight crime at night in northeast Georgia, except on nights there is no crime, in which case they sit at home, sip on white wine and watch reruns of "Mad Men."